CN112969888A

CN112969888A - Vehicle lamp

Info

Publication number: CN112969888A
Application number: CN201980072172.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 堀川彰仁
Original assignee: Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-11-02
Filing date: 2019-10-30
Publication date: 2021-06-15
Anticipated expiration: 2039-10-30
Also published as: EP3875853B1; EP3875853A1; JP2020077601A; JP7271241B2; CN112969888B; EP3875853A4

Abstract

The present invention is configured such that light incident on a plate-shaped light guide (32) from a light source is totally reflected by a plurality of reflection elements (32sC, 32sL, 32sR) formed on a first plate surface (32a) along a line (L) extending in the vertical direction, and then emitted from a second plate surface (32b) toward the front of a lamp. In this case, the plurality of reflection elements are arranged in 3 rows so as to be adjacent to each other in the left-right direction on the line (L), and are each formed in a concave spherical shape. The reflective elements (32sC) forming the center row are formed at a position deeper than the reflective elements (32sL, 32sR) forming the left and right rows. Thus, the brightness of the reflected light reflected from each reflecting element (32sC) is made to approach the brightness of the reflected light reflected from each reflecting element (32sL, 32sR), and the plate-like light guide body (32) is made to appear to emit light linearly at a substantially uniform brightness along the line (L).

Description

Vehicle lamp

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a vehicle lamp provided with a plate-shaped light guide.

Background

Conventionally, there is known a vehicle lamp configured to totally reflect light incident on a plate-shaped light guide from a light source by a plurality of reflecting elements formed on a first plate surface of the plate-shaped light guide, and to emit the light from a second plate surface of the plate-shaped light guide toward a front of a lamp.

Patent document 1 describes, as such a vehicle lamp, a configuration in which light emitted from a plurality of light sources arranged along a rear end surface of a plate-shaped light guide body is made incident on the plate-shaped light guide body from the rear end surface.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-16386

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved by the invention

By adopting the structure described in patent document 1, the plate-like light guide can be made to appear to emit light substantially uniformly when the lamp is viewed from the front.

On the other hand, if a configuration is provided in which a side-emitting optical fiber is provided as a vehicle lamp, the optical fiber appears to emit light linearly, and thereby the design when the lamp is turned on can be improved.

In contrast, in a vehicle lamp including a plate-shaped light guide, linear light emission can be realized if the plate-shaped light guide is configured such that a groove-shaped reflection element is formed on a plate surface on the rear side of the lamp, a plurality of reflection elements are arranged in series, or a plate surface on the front side of the lamp is textured.

However, in the former two configurations, the line-of-sight direction in which the plate-like light guide appears to emit light linearly is limited, and in the latter configuration, sufficient luminance cannot be ensured. Therefore, a light emitting system such as an optical fiber cannot be realized, and hence the design when the lamp is turned on cannot be improved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle lamp including a plate-shaped light guide, which can improve design characteristics when the lamp is turned on.

Means for solving the problems

The present invention achieves the above object by devising the structure of a plate-like light guide.

That is, the vehicle lamp according to the present invention includes a light source and a plate-shaped light guide,

the lamp for a vehicle is characterized in that,

the plate-shaped light guide body is configured to: the light incident on the plate-shaped light guide body from the light source is totally reflected by a plurality of reflecting elements formed on the first plate surface of the plate-shaped light guide body and then emitted from the second plate surface of the plate-shaped light guide body toward the front of the lamp,

the plurality of reflecting elements are arranged in a state of being continuously arranged along a line extending in a desired direction, and are arranged in a plurality of rows on the line so as to be adjacent to each other in a direction intersecting the desired direction,

the plate-shaped light guide is configured to enable light incident from the light source to the plate-shaped light guide to reach the line position from a first direction intersecting the desired direction,

each of the reflecting elements has a surface shape of a substantially concave curved surface, and reflecting elements constituting a first-direction second row adjacent to a first row in the first direction are formed at a position deeper than the first plate surface than reflecting elements constituting a first row in the first direction closest to the first direction in the plurality of rows.

The kind of the "light source" is not particularly limited, and for example, a light emitting diode, an incandescent lamp, or the like can be used.

The "plate-shaped light guide" may be configured such that light incident on the plate-shaped light guide from the light source is totally reflected by the plurality of reflection elements formed on the first plate surface and then emitted from the second plate surface toward the front of the lamp, and the specific shape thereof is not particularly limited.

The specific direction of the above-mentioned "desired direction" is not particularly limited.

The specific shape of the "substantially concave curved surface" is not particularly limited, and for example, a shape formed into a substantially concave spherical surface shape, a substantially concave ellipsoidal spherical surface shape, a substantially concave polyhedral surface shape, or the like can be used. The concave curved surface as referred to herein means a case where the first plate surface of the plate-shaped light guide body is formed into a concave curved surface shape when viewed from the outside, and the shape of the reflection surface is a convex curved surface shape facing the inside of the plate-shaped light guide body.

The "reflective elements constituting the second row in the first direction" is not particularly limited as long as it is formed at a position deeper from the first plate surface than the "reflective elements constituting the first row in the first direction".

Effects of the invention

The vehicle lamp according to the present invention is configured such that: light incident on the plate-shaped light guide from the light source is totally reflected by the plurality of reflection elements formed on the first plate surface, and then emitted from the second plate surface toward the front of the lamp. Since the plurality of reflecting elements are arranged in a state of being continuously arranged along a line extending in a desired direction, light incident on the plate-shaped light guide from the light source is totally reflected by each reflecting element and emitted from the second plate surface toward the front of the lamp, and thus the plate-shaped light guide can be seen as emitting light linearly along the line.

In this case, since each of the reflecting elements has a surface shape of a substantially concave curved surface, total reflection occurring in the reflecting element proceeds substantially uniformly in all directions. Therefore, even if the direction of the line of sight when the plate-like light guide is viewed changes greatly, the state in which the plate-like light guide appears to emit light linearly along the line can be maintained. Therefore, it is possible to make the lamp appear to emit light as if it were an optical fiber when the lamp is turned on (i.e., when the light source is turned on), thereby improving the design of the vehicle lamp.

The plurality of reflecting elements are arranged in a plurality of rows on the line so as to be adjacent to each other in a direction intersecting the desired direction, and the plate-shaped light guide body is configured so that light incident on the plate-shaped light guide body from the light source can reach a position of the line from a first direction intersecting the desired direction, so that the plate-shaped light guide body can be seen to emit light linearly along the line at a more uniform brightness.

Further, since the reflecting elements constituting the first-direction second row adjacent to the first-direction first row among the plurality of rows are formed at a position deeper than the first plate surface, the brightness of the reflected light reflected from the reflecting elements constituting the first-direction second row can be made closer to the brightness of the reflected light reflected from the reflecting elements constituting the first-direction first row. Therefore, the plate-like light guide can be seen to linearly emit light with more uniform brightness along the line.

As described above, according to the present invention, in the vehicle lamp including the plate-shaped light guide, it is possible to improve design characteristics when the lamp is turned on.

In the above configuration, if the depth from the first plate surface of the reflective elements constituting the first-direction second row is set to a value 1.5 to 2.5 times the depth from the first plate surface of the reflective elements constituting the first-direction first row, the luminance of the reflected light reflected from the reflective elements constituting the first-direction second row can be easily made to be close to the luminance of the reflected light reflected from the reflective elements constituting the first-direction first row.

In the above configuration, if the plate-shaped light guide further includes a second light source disposed at a position that can reach the line from a second direction on the opposite side of the first direction from the direction intersecting the required direction with respect to the plate-shaped light guide, and in addition, the reflecting element that forms a second direction second row adjacent to the second direction first row among the plurality of rows is formed at a position deeper than the first plate surface than the reflecting element that forms a second direction first row closest to the second direction, the luminance of the reflected light reflected from the reflecting element that forms the second direction second row can be made closer to the luminance of the reflected light reflected from the reflecting element that forms the second direction first row.

In this case, if the first-direction second row and the second-direction second row are made to be the same row, the plurality of reflective elements can be made to appear to emit light substantially uniformly in 3 rows on the line.

On the other hand, if a third row is arranged between the first direction second row and the second direction second row, and the reflecting elements constituting the third row are formed at a position deeper from the first plate surface than the reflecting elements constituting the first direction second row and the reflecting elements constituting the second direction second row, the plurality of reflecting elements can be made to appear to emit light substantially uniformly in 5 rows on the line.

In the above configuration, if a plurality of the wires are further arranged at intervals in a direction intersecting the desired direction, it can be seen that the plurality of optical fibers emit light in a state of being discretely arranged when the lamp is turned on, and thus the design expression effect can be further improved.

In this case, in order to enhance the effect of the plurality of optical fibers emitting light in a state where the optical fibers are discretely arranged, the interval between the lines in the desired direction is preferably set to a value larger than the width of the line.

In the above configuration, if the surface shape of each reflecting element is a concave spherical surface, and the pitch between the plurality of reflecting elements constituting each row is set to a value 2 to 3.5 times the radius of the concave spherical surface constituting the reflecting element, the following operational effects can be obtained.

That is, when the reflective elements adjacent to each other in each row are arranged in a state of being partially overlapped with each other, the connecting portion thereof has a sharp shape like a ridge line due to the intersection line of the concave spherical surfaces. In fact, when a die for forming a plate-like light guide is machined, a corner curved surface (i.e., a die-machined curved surface) is inevitably formed at the connecting portion, and therefore, the maximum inclination angle of the outer peripheral edge portion of each reflecting element becomes extremely small at the connecting portion. Therefore, the light is not totally reflected at the connecting portion, and the brightness of the reflected light reflected from each reflecting element is reduced.

In contrast, by setting the pitch between the plurality of reflecting elements constituting each row to a value of 2 times or more with respect to the radius of the concave spherical surface, the maximum inclination angle of the outer peripheral edge portion of each reflecting element can be prevented from being extremely reduced at the connecting portion by the die-machining curved surface. This can suppress a decrease in the brightness of the reflected light reflected by each reflecting element.

On the other hand, although the brightness of the reflected light reflected from each reflecting element increases as the pitch between the plurality of reflecting elements constituting each row increases, when the pitch has a value exceeding 3.5 times the radius of the concave spherical surface, a flat surface portion is formed between the plurality of reflecting elements constituting each row. As a result, the arrangement density of the plurality of reflective elements as a whole of the plurality of rows is reduced, and hence the design expression effect that the reflective elements appear to shine linearly along the line is reduced. Therefore, the pitch is preferably set to a value of 3.5 times or less the radius of the concave spherical surface.

From such a viewpoint, it is more preferable that the pitch between the plurality of reflecting elements constituting each row is set to a value of 2.5 to 3 times the radius of the concave spherical surface constituting the reflecting element.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a detailed view of section II of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the cross section taken along line III-III of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a main component of the lamp unit of the vehicle lamp.

Fig. 5 is a front view showing the vehicle lamp in an illuminated state.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to fig. 2 showing a first modification of the above embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a detailed view of the section along line VII-VII of fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a front view showing the vehicle lamp according to the first modification example in an illuminated state.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to fig. 3 showing a second modification of the above embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to fig. 9 showing a third modification of the above embodiment.

In fig. 11, (a) is a view in the XIa direction of fig. 10, and (b) to (d) are views similar to (a) showing fourth to sixth modifications of the above embodiment.

In FIG. 12, (a) is a sectional view taken along the line XIIa-XIIa in FIG. 11, (b) is a sectional view taken along the line XIIb-XIIb in FIG. 11, (c) is a sectional view taken along the line XIIc-XIIc in FIG. 11, and (d) is a sectional view taken along the line XIId-XIId in FIG. 11.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle lamp 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a detailed view of a section II of fig. 1, and fig. 3 is a detailed view of a cross section taken along line III-III of fig. 2. In fig. 1, a part of the components is shown in a broken state.

In these drawings, the direction indicated by X is the "front" of the vehicle lamp 10, the direction indicated by Y is the "right direction", and the direction indicated by Z is the "upper direction". The direction indicated by X is the "rear" of the vehicle, and the direction indicated by Y is also the "right" of the vehicle. The same applies to figures other than these figures.

The vehicle lamp 10 according to the present embodiment is a tail lamp disposed at a rear end portion of a vehicle, and is configured such that a lamp unit 20 is assembled in a lamp chamber formed by a lamp body 12 and a transparent translucent cover 14 attached to a front end opening portion thereof.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the main components of the lamp unit 20 in a removed state.

As shown in the drawing, the lamp unit 20 includes a light transmitting member 30 and left and right 1 pairs of

light sources

40L and 40R, and has a bilaterally symmetrical structure.

The light transmitting member 30 is a colorless and transparent resin (e.g., acrylic resin) member, and is configured by integrally forming a plate-shaped light guide 32 and a rod-shaped light guide 34, the plate-shaped light guide 32 being formed to extend in a flat plate shape along a vertical plane orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the lamp, and the rod-shaped light guide 34 being formed to extend in a cylindrical shape in the left-right direction along an upper end edge of the plate-shaped light guide 32.

The plate-shaped light guide 32 has an outer shape of an inverted isosceles trapezoid when viewed from the front of the lamp, and is formed with a plate thickness of about 1 to 3mm (for example, a plate thickness of about 2 mm).

The rod-like light guide 34 has a diameter of about 4 to 8mm

(e.g., a diameter of about 6 mm)

) The left and right end portions are formed so as to protrude to the left and right sides from the plate-like light guide 32.

Thus, the light-transmitting member 30 is configured such that a communicating portion 34c communicating with the plate-shaped light guide 32 is formed in a lower region of the peripheral surface of the rod-shaped light guide 34 so as to extend in the left-right direction.

The left and right 1 pairs of

light sources

40L, 40R are both red light emitting diodes, and are arranged in the vicinity of both left and right end faces 34a, 34b of the bar-shaped light guide 34.

The left light source 40L is mounted on the substrate 42 with its light emitting surface facing the left end surface 34a of the rod-shaped light guide 34, and the right light source 40R is mounted on the substrate 42 with its light emitting surface facing the right end surface 34b of the rod-shaped light guide 34. The left and right 1-pair substrates 42 are supported by the lamp body 12.

The light transmitting member 30 is supported by the left and right 1-pair substrates 42 via brackets 44 (see fig. 1) attached to both left and right end portions of the rod-shaped light guide 34.

In the plate-shaped light guide 32, a plurality of reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, 32sR are formed on the first plate surface 32a located on the lamp rear side. On the other hand, the second plate surface 32b positioned on the front side of the lamp in the plate-like light guide 32 is configured as a smooth surface.

The plurality of reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR are arranged in a state of being continuously aligned along a line L extending in the vertical direction, and are arranged in 3 rows on the line L so as to be adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction.

The lines L are arranged at 5 equal intervals in the left-right direction, and each line L is formed to linearly extend from a position near the upper end edge to a position near the lower end edge of the first plate surface 32 a. At this time, the plurality of reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR are arranged in close contact with each other on each line L, and are shifted by half a pitch in the vertical direction between adjacent rows.

As shown in fig. 3, each of the reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, 32sR has a concave spherical surface shape. Of the plurality of reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR, the reflection element 32sC constituting the center row is formed at a position deeper than the reflection elements 32sL and 32sR constituting the left and right rows from the first plate surface 32 a. Here, the position deeper from the first plate surface 32a refers to a position where the distance from the reference surface to the X direction in fig. 3 is long when the position of the first plate surface 32a is the reference surface of the first plate surface 32a in the case where the concave spherical shape of the reflective elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR is not present in fig. 3. In this case, the depth Db from the first plate surface 32a of each reflecting element 32sC is set to a value of about 1.5 to 2.5 times (for example, a value close to about 2 times) the depth Da from the first plate surface 32a of each reflecting element 32sL, 32 sR.

The radius Rb of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflecting element 32sC is set to the same value as the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflecting element 32sL, 32 sR. Specifically, the radius Rb of the concave spherical surface is set to a value of Ra or Rb about r0.1mm to 0.5mm (e.g., about r0.3mm).

However, the concave spherical surfaces constituting the respective reflection elements 32sL and 32sR lack portions close to the respective reflection elements 32sC, and are smoothly connected to the concave spherical surfaces constituting the respective reflection elements 32sC via convex curved surfaces having convex curved sectional shapes with the radii Rd. The respective reflection elements 32sL and 32sR are smoothly connected to the first plate surface 32a via a convex curved surface having a convex curved cross-sectional shape with a radius Rc. In this case, the radii Rc, Rd of the convex curves are set to values equal to or less than the radii Ra, Rb of the concave spherical surfaces (specifically, values around R0.1mm. ltoreq. Rc, Rd. ltoreq. Ra, Rb).

As shown in fig. 1, the distance a between the lines L in the left-right direction is set to a value larger than the width W of each line L (for example, a is about 2W to 20W).

As shown in fig. 4, in the rod-shaped light guide 34, the light from the light source 40L incident from the left end surface 34a is incident little by little on the plate-shaped light guide 32 from the communicating portion 34c while being guided to the right end surface 34b by total reflection on the peripheral surface thereof, and the light from the light source 40R incident from the right end surface 34b is incident little by little on the communicating portion 34c while being guided to the left end surface 34a by total reflection on the peripheral surface thereof.

At this time, the light from the light source 40L incident from the left end surface 34a of the rod-shaped light guide 34 enters the plate-shaped light guide 32 from the communicating portion 34c as light directed in the diagonally downward right direction, and the light from the light source 40R incident from the right end surface 34b of the rod-shaped light guide 34 enters the plate-shaped light guide 32 from the communicating portion 34c as light directed in the diagonally downward left direction.

In the plate-shaped light guide 32, the light from the

light sources

40L and 40R incident from the communicating portion 34c of the rod-shaped light guide 34 is totally reflected by the plurality of reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR formed on the first plate surface 32a while being guided obliquely downward by the first plate surface 32a and the second plate surface 32b, and is emitted from the second plate surface 32b toward the front of the lamp.

At this time, since the light from the

light sources

40L and 40R also reaches the respective reflection elements 32sC, 32sL and 32sR from directions other than the cross section shown in fig. 3, the light is totally reflected in all directions by the respective reflection elements 32sC, 32sL and 32sR and is emitted from the second plate surface 32b toward the front of the lamp.

As shown in fig. 1, an extension member 16 is disposed in the lamp chamber, and the extension member 16 partially covers the transparent member 30 of the lamp unit 20 when the lamp is viewed from the front.

Specifically, the extension member 16 is a planar member covering the peripheral edge portion of the plate-shaped light guide 32 of the transparent member 30, and in this case, a horizontally long rectangular opening 16a is formed, and the opening 16a has a size surrounding 5 lines L.

The extension member 16 is supported by the lamp body 12 at its outer peripheral edge portion.

Fig. 5 is a front view showing the vehicle lamp 10 in an illuminated state.

As shown in the drawing, when the vehicle lamp 10 in a state where the left and right 1 pairs of

light sources

40L and 40R are lit is viewed from the front direction of the lamp (i.e., the rear direction of the vehicle), light from the

light sources

40L and 40R incident on the plate-shaped light guide 32 from the communicating portion 34c via the rod-shaped light guide 34 of the light transmitting member 30 is totally reflected by the plurality of reflecting elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR constituting the lines L, and thus the lines L appear to emit light substantially uniformly over the entire length.

At this time, since the respective reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR have a concave spherical surface shape, the total reflection of the reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR proceeds substantially uniformly in all directions. Therefore, even if the direction of the line of sight when viewing the plate-like light guide 32 changes greatly, the plate-like light guide 32 can be maintained in a state where it appears to emit light linearly along each line L.

In addition, since the plurality of reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR constituting each line L are arranged in 3 rows, the plurality of reflection elements 32sC constituting the center row is formed at a position deeper than the first plate surface 32a than the plurality of reflection elements 32sL and 32sR constituting the left and right rows, and therefore the luminance of the reflected light reflected from each reflection element 32sC is close to the luminance of the reflected light reflected from each reflection element 32sL and 32 sR.

Next, the operation and effects of the present embodiment will be described.

In the vehicle lamp 10 according to the present embodiment, the light from the light source 40L and the light source 40R (second light source) incident on the plate-shaped light guide 32 via the rod-shaped light guide 34 is totally reflected by the plurality of reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR formed on the first plate surface 32a and then emitted from the second plate surface 32b toward the front of the lamp, but since the plurality of reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR are arranged in a state of being continuously aligned along the line L extending in the vertical direction (desired direction), the light from the

light sources

40L and 40R incident on the plate-shaped light guide 32 is totally reflected by the respective reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR and emitted from the second plate surface 32b toward the front of the lamp, and thus the plate-shaped light guide 32 can be seen as emitting light linearly along the line L.

At this time, since the respective reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR have a concave spherical surface shape, total reflection occurring in the reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR proceeds substantially uniformly in all directions. Therefore, even if the direction of the line of sight when viewing the plate-like light guide 32 changes greatly, the plate-like light guide 32 can be maintained in a state of emitting light linearly along the line L. Therefore, it is possible to make the lighting look like an optical fiber when the lighting device is turned on (i.e., when the

light sources

40L, 40R are turned on), and thus it is possible to improve the design of the vehicular lighting device 10.

The plurality of reflecting elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR are arranged in 3 rows on the line L so as to be adjacent to each other in the left-right direction (the direction intersecting the desired direction), and the plate-shaped light guide 32 is configured so that the light from the

light sources

40L and 40R incident on the plate-shaped light guide 32 can reach the line L from the obliquely left upper direction (first direction) and the obliquely right upper direction (second direction), and therefore the plate-shaped light guide 32 can be seen to emit light at substantially uniform brightness along the line L.

In addition, since the reflective elements 32sC constituting the center row (the first direction second row and the second direction second row) are formed at a position deeper than the reflective elements 32sL, 32sR constituting the left and right rows (the first direction first row and the second direction first row), the luminance of the reflected light reflected from the reflective elements 32sC constituting the center row can be made closer to the luminance of the reflected light reflected from the reflective elements 32sL, 32sR constituting the left and right rows. Therefore, the plate-like light guide 32 can be made to appear to emit light with more uniform brightness along the line L.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the vehicle lamp 10 including the plate-shaped light guide 32, the design property at the time of lighting the lamp can be improved.

In this case, in the present embodiment, the depth from the first plate surface 32a of the reflective element 32sC constituting the center row is set to a value 1.5 to 2.5 times the depth from the first plate surface 32a of the reflective elements 32sL and 32sR constituting the left and right rows, and therefore the luminance of the reflected light reflected from the reflective element 32sC constituting the center row can be easily made to be close to the luminance of the reflected light reflected from the reflective elements 32sL and 32sR constituting the left and right rows. This makes it possible to make the plate-like light guide 32 appear to emit light with more uniform brightness along the line L.

In addition, in the present embodiment, since 5 lines L are arranged at equal intervals in the left-right direction, when the lamp is turned on, the 5 optical fibers can be caused to emit light in a state in which they are arranged discretely, and the design expression effect can be further improved.

In this case, in the present embodiment, the interval a between the 5 lines L is set to a value larger than the width W of each line L, and therefore, the effect that the 5 optical fibers appear to emit light in a state where they are discretely arranged can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the case where 5 lines L are arranged has been described, but a configuration may be adopted in which 4 or less or 6 or more lines L are arranged.

In the above embodiment, the respective lines L are linearly extended in the vertical direction, but may be extended in a direction other than the vertical direction, or may be extended in a curved line shape.

In the above embodiment, the case where each of the reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, and 32sR has a concave spherical surface shape has been described, but a configuration having a substantially concave curved surface shape formed by a substantially concave spherical surface or the like close to a concave ellipsoidal surface or a concave polyhedron which is a concave spherical surface may be adopted, and even in the case where such a configuration is adopted, substantially the same operational effects as those of the above embodiment can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, the case where the plate-shaped light guide 32 is formed to extend in a flat plate shape along a vertical plane orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the lamp has been described, but the plate-shaped light guide may be formed to extend in a flat plate shape in a direction inclined with respect to a vertical plane orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the lamp, or may be formed to extend along a curved surface.

In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the light from the left and right 1-

pair light sources

40L, 40R incident on the plate-shaped light guide 32 from the communicating portion 34c via the rod-shaped light guide 34 of the light transmitting member 30 is totally reflected by the plurality of reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, 32sR formed on the first plate surface 32a has been described, but the configuration in which the light directly incident on the plate-shaped light guide 32 from the left and right 1-

pair light sources

40L, 40R is totally reflected by the plurality of reflection elements 32sC, 32sL, 32sR formed on the first plate surface 32a may be employed.

In the above embodiment, the case where the vehicle lamp 10 is a tail lamp has been described, but the same operational effects as those of the above embodiment can be obtained by adopting the same configuration as those of the above embodiment regardless of the location and function of the vehicle, such as a stop lamp, a turn signal lamp, a blinker, and a daytime running lamp, except for the tail lamp.

Next, a modified example of the above embodiment will be described.

First, a first modification of the above embodiment will be described.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to fig. 2 showing a main part of the transparent member 130 in the lamp unit 120 (see fig. 8) of the vehicle lamp 110 according to the present modification.

As shown in fig. 6, the basic configuration of the light-transmitting member 130 according to this modification is the same as that of the above embodiment, but the configuration of the first plate surface 132a of the plate-like light guide 132 is partly different from that of the above embodiment.

That is, in the first plate surface 132a of the plate-like light guide 132 of the present modification, the plurality of reflection elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, 132sR2 are arranged in 5 rows in a state of being continuously aligned along each of the 5 lines L extending in the up-down direction. At this time, the plurality of reflection elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, 132sR2 are arranged in close contact with each other on each line L, and adjacent rows are shifted by half a pitch in the vertical direction.

Fig. 7 is a detailed view of the section along line VII-VII of fig. 6.

As shown in fig. 7, the reflective elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, 132sR2 have a concave spherical surface shape, and the reflective elements 132sC constituting the center row (third row) are formed at a deeper position than the reflective elements 132sL2, 132sR2 constituting the left and right rows (first direction second row and second direction second row), and the reflective elements 132sL2, 132sR2 are formed at a deeper position than the reflective elements 132sL1, 132sR1 constituting the left and right rows (first direction first row and second direction first row).

In this case, each of the reflective elements 132sC has the same shape as each of the reflective elements 32sC of the above embodiment, each of the reflective elements 132sL1 and 132sL2 has the same shape as each of the reflective elements 32sL of the above embodiment, and each of the reflective elements 132sR1 and 132sR2 has the same shape as each of the reflective elements 32sR of the above embodiment.

The concave spherical surfaces constituting the respective reflection elements 132sL2, 132sR2 are smoothly connected to the concave spherical surfaces constituting the respective reflection elements 132sC via convex curved surfaces, and the concave spherical surfaces constituting the respective reflection elements 132sL1, 132sR1 are smoothly connected to the concave spherical surfaces constituting the respective reflection elements 132sL2, 132sR2 via convex curved surfaces, and are smoothly connected to the first plate surface 132a via convex curved surfaces.

Thus, the depth Db from the first plate surface 132a of each of the reflection elements 132sL2 and 132sR2 is set to a value of about 1.5 to 2.5 times (for example, a value slightly smaller than about 2 times) the depth Da from the first plate surface 132a of each of the reflection elements 132sL1 and 132sR1, and the depth Dc from the first plate surface 132a of each of the reflection elements 132sC is set to a value of about 2 to 3 times (for example, a value about 2.5 times) the depth Da.

In the plate-shaped light guide 132, while the light from the

light sources

40L and 40R incident from the communication portion 134c (see fig. 8) of the rod-shaped light guide 134 is guided obliquely downward, the light is totally reflected by the plurality of reflecting elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, and 132sR2 formed on the first plate surface 132a, and is emitted from the second plate surface 132b toward the front of the lamp.

Fig. 8 is a front view showing the vehicle lamp 110 in an illuminated state.

As shown in fig. 8, when the vehicle lamp 110 in a state where the left and right 1 pairs of

light sources

40L and 40R are lit is viewed from the front of the lamp, light from the

light sources

40L and 40R incident on the plate-shaped light guide 132 from the communicating portion 134c via the rod-shaped light guide 134 of the light transmitting member 130 is totally reflected by the plurality of reflecting elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, and 132sR2 constituting the lines L, and thus the lines L appear to emit light substantially uniformly over the entire length.

At this time, since the reflective elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, 132sR2 have a concave spherical surface shape, total reflection occurring in the reflective elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, 132sR2 proceeds substantially uniformly in all directions. Therefore, even if the direction of the line of sight when the plate-like light guide 132 is viewed changes greatly, the plate-like light guide 132 can be maintained in a state of emitting light linearly along each line L.

In addition, among the plurality of reflection elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, 132sR2 constituting each line L, the elements constituting the inner row are formed at positions deeper from the first plate surface 132a, and therefore the luminance of the reflected light reflected from the reflection elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, 132sR2 is substantially uniform.

In this way, in the present modification, in each of the 5 lines L, the plurality of reflection elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, 132sR2 can be made to appear to emit light substantially uniformly in 5 columns. Thus, the plate-like light guide 132 can be seen to emit light with a larger width along each line L than in the case of the above-described embodiment.

Further, by reducing the size of each of the reflection elements 132sC, 132sL1, 132sL2, 132sR1, 132sR2, each line L can be set to a width approximately equal to the line L of the above-described embodiment, and in such a case, the plate-shaped light guide 132 can be made to appear to emit light more uniformly along each line L than in the case of the above-described embodiment.

Next, a second modification of the above embodiment will be described.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to fig. 3 showing a main part of the transparent member 230 in the lamp unit of the vehicle lamp according to the modification.

As shown in fig. 9, the basic configuration of the light-transmitting member 230 according to this modification is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, but the configuration of the first plate surface 232a of the plate-shaped light guide 232 is partially different from that of the above-described embodiment, and is different from that of the above-described embodiment in that light from the light source is incident only on the left end surface of the rod-shaped light guide (not shown).

That is, in the first plate surface 232a of the plate-like light guide 232 of the present modification, the plurality of reflection elements 232sC and 232sL are arranged in 2 rows in a state of being continuously aligned along each of the 5 lines L extending in the up-down direction. In this case, the plurality of reflecting elements 232sC and 232sL are disposed in close contact with each other on the lines L, and in two rows, the two rows are vertically shifted by half a pitch.

The respective reflection elements 232sC, 232sL have the same surface shape as the respective reflection elements 32sC, 32sL of the above embodiment. The reflective elements 232sC constituting the right-hand column (first-direction second column) are formed deeper from the first plate surface 232a than the reflective elements 232sL constituting the left-hand column (first-direction first column). Further, the right side portion of each reflecting element 232sC is smoothly connected to the first plate surface 232a via the inclined portion 232 sCa.

In this case, in the present modification, the depth Db from the first plate surface 232a of each reflecting element 232sC is set to a value of about 1.5 to 2.5 times (for example, a value slightly smaller than about 2 times) the depth Da from the first plate surface 232a of each reflecting element 232 sL.

In the plate-shaped light guide 232, light from a left light source (not shown) incident from a communicating portion (not shown) of the rod-shaped light guide is totally reflected by the plurality of reflecting elements 232sC and 232sL formed on the first plate surface 232a while being guided obliquely downward to the right, and is emitted from the second plate surface 232b toward the front of the lamp.

In the case of the configuration of the present modification, the plurality of reflection elements 232sC and 232sL can be made to emit light in 2 rows substantially uniformly on each of the 5 lines L.

Next, a third modification of the above embodiment will be described.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to fig. 9 showing a main part of the transparent member 330 in the lamp unit of the vehicle lamp according to the modification.

As shown in fig. 10, the light-transmitting member 330 according to this modification has the same basic configuration as that of the second modification, but the shape of the outer peripheral edge of each of the reflective elements 332sC and 332sL formed on the first plate surface 332a of the plate-like light guide 332 is different from that of the second modification.

That is, in the present modification, the cross-sectional shape of the convex curved surface that smoothly connects the reflection element 332sL and the reflection element 332sC is formed by a convex curve having a radius Rd (specifically, Rd Ra Rb r0.3mm) that is the same as the radii Ra and Rb of the concave spherical surfaces that constitute the reflection elements 332sL and 332 sC.

In the present modification, each of the reflecting elements 332sL is also smoothly connected to the first plate surface 332a via a convex curved surface, but the cross-sectional shape of the convex curved surface is formed by a convex curve having a radius Rc (that is, Rc ═ r0.3mm) that is the same as the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each of the reflecting elements 332 sL.

In the present modification, each reflecting element 332sC is also smoothly connected to the first plate surface 332a via the inclined portion 332sCa, and the cross-sectional shape of the convex curved surface connecting the inclined portion 332sCa to the first plate surface 332a is formed by a convex curve having a radius Rc equal to the radius Rb of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflecting element 332 sC.

Fig. 11 (a) is a view taken along line XIa of fig. 10, and fig. 12 (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIIa-XIIa of fig. 11.

As shown in fig. 11 (a), the pitch P2 between the plurality of reflection elements 332sL is set to a value 2 times the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflection element 332 sL. As shown in fig. 12 (a), the adjacent reflective elements 332sL are smoothly connected to each other via a convex-curved connecting portion 332 c.

The cross-sectional shape of the convex curved surface constituting the connecting portion 332c (specifically, the cross-sectional shape in the direction along which the line L extends) is formed by a convex curve having a radius Re (i.e., Re ═ r0.3mm) of the same value as the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflecting element 332 sL.

If the convex curved surface-shaped connecting portion 332c is not formed, the connecting portion has a tapered shape as shown by a two-dot chain line in fig. 12 (a).

The same applies to the plurality of reflecting elements 332sC in the above aspect.

In the case of the configuration of the present modification, the plurality of reflection elements 332sC and 332sL can be made to emit light in 2 rows substantially uniformly on each of the 5 lines L.

In the present modification, the pitch P2 between the plurality of reflection elements 332sL is set to a value 2 times the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflection element 332sL, and in addition, the reflection elements 332sL adjacent to each other are smoothly connected to each other via the convex-curved-surface-shaped connecting portion 332c, and the cross-sectional shape thereof is formed by a convex curve having a radius Re having the same value as the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflection element 332 sL.

That is, the mold processing of the connecting portion 332c can be easily performed while maintaining the same degree of accuracy as the mold processing of the reflecting element 332 sL. Further, it is possible to avoid that the maximum inclination angle of the outer peripheral edge portion of each reflecting element 332sL becomes extremely small due to the curved surface of the mold formed at the connecting portion 332c, and thus it is possible to suppress a decrease in the brightness of the reflected light reflected from each reflecting element 332 sL.

Next, a fourth modification of the above embodiment will be described.

Fig. 11 (b) and 12 (b) are the same views as fig. 11 (a) and 12 (a) showing the main part of the plate-shaped light guide 432 according to the present modification.

As shown in fig. 11 (b) and 12 (b), the basic configuration of the plate-shaped light guide 432 according to this modification is the same as that of the third modification, and is different from that of the third modification in that the pitch P2 between the plurality of reflecting elements 432sL formed on the first plate surface 432a is set to a value of about 2.7 times the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflecting element 432 sL.

In the present modification, the mutually adjacent reflective elements 432sL of the plurality of reflective elements 432sL are smoothly connected to each other via a convex-curved-surface-shaped connecting portion 432c, and the cross-sectional shape thereof is formed by a convex curve having a radius Re identical to a radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflective element 432 sL.

The same applies to the plurality of reflecting elements 432 sC.

In the present modification, as shown in fig. 11 (b), since the reflective elements 432sL and the reflective elements 432sC are alternately arranged in close contact along the line L, the pitch P1 in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the line L extends has a smaller value than that in the third modification.

In the case of the configuration of the present modification, the plurality of reflecting elements 432sC and 432sL can be made to emit light in 2 rows substantially uniformly on each of the 5 lines L, and the mold processing of the connecting portion 432c can be easily performed while maintaining the same degree of accuracy as the mold processing of the reflecting elements 432 sL.

In the present modification, the pitch P2 between the reflecting elements 432sL is set to a value of about 2.7 times the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflecting element 432sL, and therefore, it is possible to avoid that the maximum inclination angle of the outer peripheral edge portion becomes excessively small due to the die-machined curved surface of the connecting portion 432 sL. This can easily avoid a decrease in the brightness of the reflected light reflected by each reflecting element 432 sL.

The same applies to the plurality of reflecting elements 432 sC.

Next, a fifth modification of the above embodiment will be described.

Fig. 11 (c) and 12 (c) are the same views as fig. 11 (a) and 12 (a) showing the main part of the plate-shaped light guide 532 according to the present modification.

As shown in fig. 11 (c) and 12 (c), the basic configuration of the plate-shaped light guide body 532 according to this modification is the same as that in the third modification, and is different from that in the third modification in that the pitch P2 between the plurality of reflection elements 532sL formed on the first plate surface 532a is set to a value of about 3.3 times the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflection element 532 sL.

In the present modification, the mutually adjacent reflective elements 532sL of the plurality of reflective elements 532sL are smoothly connected to each other via a convex-curved-surface-shaped connecting portion 532c, and the cross-sectional shape thereof is formed by a convex curve having a radius Re equal to a radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflective element 532 sL.

The same applies to the plurality of reflecting elements 532sC in the above respect.

In the present modification, as shown in fig. 11 (c), since the reflection elements 532sL and the reflection elements 532sC are alternately arranged in close contact along the line L, the pitch P1 in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the line L extends has a smaller value than that in the case of the fourth modification.

Even in the case of the configuration of the present modification, the plurality of reflecting elements 532sC, 532sL can be made to appear to emit light substantially uniformly in 2 columns for each of the 5 lines L. In addition, the die working of the connecting portion 532c can be easily performed while maintaining the same degree of accuracy as the die working of the reflecting element 532 sL.

In addition, in the present modification, the pitch P2 between the plurality of reflection elements 532sL is set to a value of about 3.3 times the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflection element 532sL, and therefore, the maximum inclination angle of the outer peripheral edge portion can be effectively suppressed from becoming smaller due to the curved surface of the mold processing of the connecting portion 532sL, and thus, the reduction in the brightness of the reflected light reflected from each reflection element 532sL can be more easily avoided.

Next, a sixth modification of the above embodiment will be described.

Fig. 11 (d) and 12 (d) are the same views as fig. 11 (a) and 12 (a) showing the main part of the plate-like light guide 632 according to the present modification.

As shown in fig. 11 (d) and 12 (d), the basic configuration of the plate-like light guide body 632 according to this modification is the same as that of the third modification, and is different from that of the third modification in that the pitch P2 between the plurality of reflection elements 632sL formed on the first plate surface 632a is set to a value of about 3.5 times the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflection element 632 sL.

In the present modification, the mutually adjacent reflection elements 632sL of the plurality of reflection elements 632sL are smoothly connected to each other via a convex-curved-surface-shaped connection portion 632c, and the cross-sectional shape thereof is formed by a convex curve having a radius Re identical to a radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflection element 632 sL.

The same applies to the plurality of reflection elements 632sC in the above respect.

In the present modification, as shown in fig. 11 (d), since the reflective elements 632sL and the reflective elements 632sC are alternately arranged in close contact with each other along the line L, the pitch P1 in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the line L extends has a smaller value than that in the fifth modification.

Even in the case of the configuration of the present modification, the plurality of reflection elements 632sC and 632sL can be made to appear to emit light substantially uniformly in 2 rows for each of the 5 lines L, and the mold processing of the connection portion 632c can be easily performed while maintaining the same degree of accuracy as the mold processing of the reflection element 632 sL.

In addition, in the present modification, since the pitch P2 between the reflection elements 632sL is set to a value of about 3.5 times the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflection element 632sL, it is possible to suppress the maximum inclination angle of the outer peripheral edge portion from becoming smaller to the maximum extent due to the die-machining curved surface of the connecting portion 632sL, and thus it is possible to more easily avoid a decrease in the brightness of the reflected light reflected from each reflection element 632 sL.

On the other hand, if the pitch P2 between the plurality of reflection elements 632sL is larger than that in the present modification, a plane portion where the convex curved surface-shaped connection portion 632c is interrupted is formed on the first plate surface 632a indicated by the two-dot chain line in fig. 12 (d), and therefore, the arrangement density of the whole of the plurality of reflection elements 632sC and 632sL arranged in 2 rows is reduced, and the design expression effect of linearly emitting light along the line L is reduced.

Therefore, the pitch P2 between the plurality of reflection elements 632sL is preferably set to a value of 3.5 times or less, in this case, more preferably 2.5 times to 3 times, the radius Ra of the concave spherical surface constituting each reflection element 632 sL.

In the above-described embodiment and the modifications thereof, the numerical values shown as specifications are merely examples, and it is needless to say that they may be set to different values as appropriate.

The present invention is not limited to the configurations described in the above embodiments and modifications thereof, and various modifications other than the above may be made.

The present application is based on the japanese patent application filed on day 11/2018 (japanese patent application No. 2018-207300) and on day 14/2019 (japanese patent application No. 2019-46966), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A vehicle lamp includes a light source and a plate-shaped light guide,

the lamp for a vehicle is characterized in that,

the plate-shaped light guide body is configured to: the light incident on the plate-shaped light guide body from the light source is totally reflected by a plurality of reflection elements formed on the first plate surface of the plate-shaped light guide body and then emitted from the second plate surface of the plate-shaped light guide body toward the front of the lamp,

the plate-shaped light guide is configured to enable light incident thereto from the light source to reach a position of the line from a first direction intersecting the desired direction,

2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1,

the depth from the first plate surface of the reflective element constituting the first-direction second row is set to a value 1.5 to 2.5 times the depth from the first plate surface of the reflective element constituting the first-direction first row.

3. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1 or 2,

a second light source disposed at a position where the second light source can reach the line from a second direction on the opposite side of the first direction and a direction intersecting the required direction with respect to the plate-shaped light guide,

the reflective elements forming a second row in a second direction adjacent to the first row in the second direction are formed at a position deeper than the reflective elements forming a first row in the second direction closest to the second direction among the plurality of rows.

4. The vehicular lamp according to claim 3,

the first direction second column and the second direction second column are the same column.

5. The vehicular lamp according to claim 3,

a third column is arranged between the first-direction second column and the second-direction second column,

the reflective elements forming the third row are formed at a position deeper than the first plate surface than the reflective elements forming the first-direction second row and the reflective elements forming the second-direction second row.

6. The vehicular lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the plurality of lines are arranged at intervals in a direction intersecting the desired direction.

7. The vehicular lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the surface shape of each of the reflecting elements is set to a concave spherical surface shape,

the pitch between the plurality of reflecting elements constituting each of the rows is set to a value of 2 to 3.5 times the radius of the concave spherical surface constituting the reflecting element.